Name: Quince Butter
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Ingredients: 3 cups water; 1 pound quinces , stemmed, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (3 cups); 1 cup sugar; 3 tablespoons bottled lemon juice

Why This Recipe Works

Softening the quinces on the stovetop with 3 cups water, before transferring it to a food processor, made it easy to process the quinces into a smooth puree. Passing the puree through a fine-mesh strainer eliminated the hard bits we kept tasting in previous batches. We landed on the addition of a cup of sugar, which slightly muted the characteristically tart quince as well as enhanced its sweetness. Lemon juice lent brightness, freshness, and acidity and highlighted the quince's floral notes. Cooking down the quince mixture for just 30 minutes transformed it from light yellow to a beautiful rosy hue.

Before You Begin

For safety reasons, be sure to use bottled lemon juice, not fresh-squeezed juice, in this recipe. This quince butter can be processed for long-term storage; see the instructions in this article.

Instructions

Bring water and quinces to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until quinces are very soft, about 1 hour.

Let mixture cool slightly, then transfer mixture to food processor and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Working in batches, use rubber spatula to work quince mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Return puree to clean saucepan.

Stir in sugar and lemon juice and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until mixture is thickened and rubber spatula leaves distinct trail when dragged across bottom of pot, about 30 minutes.

Let quince butter cool slightly. Using funnel and spoon, portion quince butter into two 1-cup jars, then let cool to room temperature. Cover, refrigerate, and serve. (Quince butter can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.)